Baylor Sell-Off Competition Will Prepare Students for Sales

Nov. 6, 2009

By Preston Sneed

Edited by Ryan Pierce

Nearly 75 percent of all business school undergraduates will end up in a sales-related job, according to Baylor University marketing professor Charles Fifield. The Baylor Sell-Off Competition Nov. 19, 2009, will provide many of these students a hands-on training experience that prepares them for those sales jobs.

The competition is a role-playing contest. Students are given a sales-related scenario and judged by buyers on their ability to present the product or service, anticipate and identify the buyer's needs and effectively address any concerns the buyer might have.

Even though most business students are not selling majors, they need to understand sales. "The competition enables students to learn how to help people buy so they will develop a competitive advantage in their professional and personal lives," Fifield explained.

Developing that competitive advantage also requires the ability to market oneself, a skill especially important in the current job market. Fifield said the contest "is an opportunity for all business students in any discipline to learn how to sell not only products and services, but also themselves."

Cash prizes totaling $2,000 will be awarded to the Sell-Off's winners, and top finishers may even qualify for the national competition at Kennesaw State University in the spring. Participants will also gain an opportunity to network with fellow students, faculty and business professionals and even learn of potential internship and job opportunities.

The deadline to register for the Sell-Off is November 13, 2009. The competition will take place in the Hankamer School of Business, room H-100, and is open to all Baylor students who have sales-related coursework and/or experience.

For more information about Baylor's Sell-Off Competition, please contact John Adams at (254) 710-4246 or John_W_Adams@baylor.edu.